scf1270

Whoohoo! I wrote a letter to the Ministry of Tourism. I'm sure that's what did it. LOL :D Seriously, I'm just glad they made the change. ;)

Appreciated!

After reading alot of reviews, I booked a private tour on the Island with Dennis Hollis <dwhollis@logic.bm>.

 

We haven't taken the tour yet, but I can says he comes highly recommended, and he has been a pleasure to converse with via email.

 

Taxi tour prices are government regulated, and for 1-4 guests, the cost is $50 per hour.

We have booked Dennis also! We're just trying to decide what to do on our "Dennis day" vs. "our on-our-own day".

After reading alot of reviews, I booked a private tour on the Island with Dennis Hollis <dwhollis@logic.bm>.

 

We haven't taken the tour yet, but I can says he comes highly recommended, and he has been a pleasure to converse with via email.

 

Taxi tour prices are government regulated, and for 1-4 guests, the cost is $50 per hour.

We did also! We're just trying to decide what to do on our "Dennis day" vs. "our on-our-own day".

Thank you!

We'll be first-timing Bermuda for three days, and are wondering what things are best to save for the guide, what things are better done on our own?

Day 1: On our own

Day 2: 4 hour dive trip for DH near Horseshoe Bay, then on our own

Day 3: Morning tour with private guide (4-ish hours), then back to Dockyard about 3 hours before departure.

Physical condition is pretty good overall, but I do avoid lots and lots of stairs, as well as slippery conditions.

I'm a klutz who not only managed to fracture a foot doing laundry, but also managed to fracture my femur one week after hip replacement. So...I like to be kind of careful :eek:!

Wondering if anyone has photos to share of the chairs and umbrellas available for rent at Horseshoe Bay Beach?

Thanks!

Some credit cards do include some (or a lot, or none) of travel/trip insurance. It's up to each of us to know what that coverage is.

For those that think they're too young for to need it, or that it's only health related: our 23 year old daughter was diagnosed with THE FLU (the actual reported-to-the-county-health-department-influenza) 18 hours before departing on a four week trip to London, Israel, Jordan, and Turkey. The airlines were pretty good, and actually did refunds and/or credits for most of the airfares. The trip insurance covered everything else, and would have covered any airfare not refunded.

Had she gotten ill 36 hours later, the insurance would have cover whatever care/transportation she needed overseas.

When she got to take the trip 6 months later, the insurance covered her luggage not arriving for three days, brand new iPhone (pickpocket at the Blue Mosque), and replaced a suitcase that lost wheels on English cobblestone.

Thanks for clarifying. We do have the 123 package, and it's our first time doing that. Didn't realize the rules differed.

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If I wanted the alcoholic drinks package, would the other 21+ year old in my cabin have to buy a drinks package too? That is how it works on Royal, and its unfortunate.

No. Celebrity doesn't have a restriction like that

Recently changed: all passengers traveling in the same cabin must have the same drink package.

We did a wine and food tasting/pairing on our first Century cruise. It was very informative. Surprising the difference between good match ups! Now, if only I could remember any of it...

Sara

we, too, noticed some smell in the halls, but not in the stateroom.

1974 College Spring Break Trip. Four girls with an inside cabin, bowels of the ship. $279ea. Worked part-time earning $1.85 per hour. (See pic below. All that polyester and we are still together!)

Flash forward:

2010, December Celebrity Eclipse AQ for $824pp dbl occ.

Inside cabin $550ea, and we're earning a lot more than $1.85 per hour ;)

Agree with these, and other, posters. Yes, it's changed. Celebrity and other mass-market lines provide a lot for a really reasonable price. Even the Luxury Lines are probably a better value than in 1976 dollars.

If these prices and the option to cruise somewhat frequently mean a bit less service and not as much/as good food - I'm still oaky with it. Sign me up for another cruise and a couple of Specialty dining nights!!

Sara

We have been on over 70 cruises, ranging from Carnival to Silver Seas. We started cruising in 1984...Royal Caribbean Song of Norway...no balconies, one restaurant..one pool..one bar on the ship. Now, ships have 3 and sometimes 4 pools,dozens of bars, several restaurants, balconies galore. Have cruises gone downhill since then? I don;t know...the ships themselves are so much better. Food and service from crew members have certainly hit a lower standard, but now the ships have between 2000 and 5000 passengers as opposed to the old Song of Norway which had just over 700 passengers. 7 times more passengers! But there are not 7 times more crew members to cook for and to wait on those passengers! Plus, we paid $1500 a person for a 7 day cruise back in 1984. Twentysix years later, we will be are on the Summit in February in a Concierge class cabin for less than $1000 a person for the week and a ship board credit of $200. Tough to say definitively if cruises have gone downhill or not!!

Service levels have decreased, food quality has decreased, and quality of entertainment has decreased. But, price has also decreased and the quality of the cabin environments has increased.

We found the speciality resturant on the Summit, Normandie, to be VERY, VERY worth it. The service was amazing - as was the food. They have their own kitchen, so everything is made to order. In the MDR, where they are serving so many at once - it's basically banquet food. Good for banquet food, but not made to order.

We already have specialitiy reservations for our two upcoming cruises.

Sara

Chicagogal-

We have been on the Solstice and will be on the Eclipse in Dec. They are all S-class ships, so very, very similar.

IMO there isn't a thing wrong with your location! Have you reviewed the full ship deck plans? If not, take a look and this post will make more sense (as much as mine ever do...)

The C1s are mostly aft balconies, the C2s are mostly "hump" cabins (those are the angled cabins on the ship's bumpouts) with larger balconies. The C3s don't have either of those, so sometimes they don't get a lot of "love". Also, relative to C1 and C2s there are a lot of them.

The C cabins have the extra Concierge bennies - which some people love, and some don't care about. We like them as long as the price diff is reasonable (reasonable varies from person to person, so that's a personal call). We wanted a "hump" since our daughters will be in a inside cabin but joining us on our balcony (if we let them :rolleyes:). When we booked (onboard) the pricing and upgrade made it worth doing C2 for us (over 1A).

You might want to check pricing for 1B cabins (same location, 2 decks lower). If the pricing is close - stay where you are. If it is a lot less...

Decks 9 and 10 are especially nice because they are between two other cabin decks - no pool deck or nightclub, etc.

Finally - if you see another available cabin in your category you can request a change - no problem. Watch prices. If your drops below what you paid call and get an adjustment :D.

Congrats on the resident discount this far out.

Sara

The information here is really helpful - I've "copy and pasted" quite a bit.

...and "hello" to my Roll Call buddies on this thread. Great minds think alike ;)

Sara